Life in SEA is not all about magic. There are beautiful landscapes with precious flora and fauna too. Please enter if you love magic and the nature. If you are particularly looking for magic alone, look elsewhere please for you shall be disappointed. All materials are for entertainment purposes only.

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Some Scandinavian Nautical Lore (北欧海事信仰)

To get good wind for sailing, you should throw a coin over
the mast so that it falls in the water, and at the same time shout "Blow
Kajsa!" This Kajsa is a deity and was formerly called Kåre. The old Vikings
would during doldrums bribe this ocean god with some amber jewellery, that they
threw over the mast and shouted "Blow

Kåre!" and immediately the wind would come. However,
over the years Kåre changed gender and became Kari, which in turn became Kajsa.

["Kåre" is a
Nordic male name that means "Curly haired one". "Kåra" is a
nautical term that means that the water becomes frizzy, from a
"kåre", which is a weak wind. The word is also used in the Swedish
form of the phrase "gives the creeps", where it is "Cold kårar
goes along the back".]

The Sea Rå

Like the hunters tell of a forest rå, a gorgeous guise of a
woman who fools men and leads them astray and later shapeshifts into a rotten
tree stump, the old sailors talk about the sea rå, this too a darling woman
with seaweed braided into the long hair. The sea rå is the ocean's avenging
spirit that punishes without mercy. Many a sailor, who refused to believe in
her, has during a dark stormy night or during a lonely guarding session
suddenly disappeared without anyone knowing, where he has gone or who was
behind his disappearance. The old sailors only nod secretively, they know that
it is the sea rå, who once again has been out and punished her deniers.

When Ships Were Built

Notetaker: Levi Johansson

Messenger: J Hassel-Larsson

Year: 1912

Parish/Town: Njurunda

When ships were built, in old times, they necessarily had to
put coins in certain parts of the ship.

[I can't translate the
rest of the text due to the nautical knowledge required.]